Luis Enrique Admits Barcelona Scoring Concerns as Lionel Messi Absence Goes on

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has expressed concerns that his Blaugrana players are still too profligate in front of goal.

The treble-winning boss was speaking after the European champions earned a comfortable 2-0 victory over Belarusian champions BATE Borisov on Tuesday thanks to two goals from Ivan Rakitic. Even though they have scored seven goals in their last two matches, Enrique expressed some minor concerns, per Marca:

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Thanks to our application and our high-pressing game, we weren't ever on the back foot, but we still require a lot of chances before we actually score.

This result will give the team confidence. We're not on terrible form, but we've been going through a patch during which we've been struggling to score and it's only been taking one mistake from us for the opposition to get a goal. Although we haven't conceded here, I'm sure that there are aspects of our defensive game that we can improve on

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One of the key reasons behind Barcelona not being as clinical is the continued absence of Lionel Messi. The talismanic forward has missed the last four games in succession with a knee problem and although the Blaugrana have scored 10 goals in those matches, they haven’t quite been at their best in attacking positions.

As we can see here courtesy of the Champions League Twitter feed, Messi was keeping a close eye on the team’s progress on Tuesday evening:

According to WhoScored.com, Barca had 21 shots in their match against BATE. For a team who has players such as Neymar and Luis Suarez in the starting lineup, you would think a greater portion of those chances would have been taken. Against a top-class side, that lack of ruthlessness could certainly cost them.

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Still, it’s important to give praise to the Barcelona players who have stepped up in the absence of Messi and got themselves on the scoresheet in his place. As we can see courtesy of Squawka Football, Rakitic hasn’t scored two goals in a game for a while:

Suarez has also flexed his muscles in the absence of his team-mate, scoring a stunning winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the previous Champions League clash and leading the line well. But it’s Neymar who has been the most impressive during Messi’s stint on the sidelines.

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The Brazilian was on hand to set up both of Rakitic’s goals against BATE and he also scored four in Barcelona’s La Liga triumph over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend. As noted by Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez, he’s really seized the initiative in recent weeks, making a host of vital contributions:

While the Camp Nou crowd will be desperate to have Messi back in action at the earliest possible opportunity, it’s encouraging to see these players showing they can take responsibility too. After all, as good as Barcelona have been down the years, they have often really struggled when their No. 10 is not available.

That certainly bodes well moving forward and Neymar will be keen to continue showing these sorts of levels once Messi is reintegrated into the team. Of course, Enrique will continue to encourage his players to do more in front of goal, but the most important factor is that this team are conjuring chances. With Neymar and Suarez in the side, they’re likely to make a fair portion of those count.